Frances Hodgson Burnett facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frances Hodgson Burnett
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Burnett in 1888
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| Born | Frances Eliza Hodgson 24 November 1849 Cheetham, Manchester, England |
| Died | 29 October 1924 (aged 74) Plandome Manor, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Novelist, playwright |
| Citizenship |
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| Spouse |
Swan Burnett
(m. 1873; div. 1898)Stephen Townsend
(m. 1900; div. 1902) |
| Children | 2 |
Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (born November 24, 1849 – died October 29, 1924) was a famous British-American writer and playwright. She is best known for her classic children's books. These include Little Lord Fauntleroy (published in 1885–1886), A Little Princess (1905), and The Secret Garden (1911).
Frances Eliza Hodgson was born in Cheetham, Manchester, England. Her father died when she was only four years old in 1853. This made life very hard for her family. In 1865, they moved to the United States, settling in New Market, Tennessee. Frances started writing at age 19 to help her family earn money. She published stories in magazines.
In 1870, her mother passed away. In Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1873, she married Swan Burnett, who became a doctor. Their first son, Lionel, was born a year later. The Burnetts lived in Paris for two years, where their second son, Vivian, was born. Then they moved back to the United States, living in Washington, D.C..
Burnett began writing novels, and her first one, That Lass o' Lowrie's, received good reviews. Little Lord Fauntleroy was published in 1886. This book made her a very popular writer of children's stories. She also wrote and helped create stage plays based on Little Lord Fauntleroy and A Little Princess.
Starting in the 1880s, Burnett often traveled to England. In the 1890s, she bought a home there, where she wrote The Secret Garden. Her older son, Lionel, died from an illness in 1890. This was a very sad time for her. She divorced Swan Burnett in 1898. She married Stephen Townsend in 1900 but divorced him in 1902. A few years later, she settled in Nassau County, New York. She died there in 1924 and is buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
In 1936, a sculpture was made to honor her in Central Park's Conservatory Garden. The statue shows two characters from The Secret Garden: Mary and Dickon.
Contents
Who Was Frances Hodgson Burnett?
Early Life in England
Frances Eliza Hodgson was born on November 24, 1849, in Manchester, England. She was the third of five children. Her father, Edwin Hodgson, owned a business selling iron goods. Her mother, Eliza Boond, came from a well-off family. The family lived comfortably and had servants. Frances had two older brothers and two younger sisters.
In 1852, her family moved to a new home with more outdoor space. Just a year later, on September 1, 1853, her father died suddenly. This left the family without money. Frances was cared for by her grandmother, who bought her books. Frances learned to love reading, especially The Flower Book with its colorful pictures and poems.
Because they had less money, her mother had to sell their family home. They moved to live with relatives in Pendleton, Salford. Their new house had a large garden where Frances loved to play.
For a year, Frances went to a small school where she first saw a book about fairies. When her family moved again to Islington Square, Salford, Frances missed the flowers and gardens. Their new home was in an old, fancy square next to a very poor and crowded area.
Frances had a strong imagination. She wrote stories in old notebooks. One of her favorite books was Uncle Tom's Cabin. She spent many hours acting out scenes from it. Frances and her siblings went to a school called The Select Seminary for Young Ladies and Gentlemen. She was described as "smart for her age" and "dreamy." She enjoyed telling stories to her friends and cousins. Her mother was a good listener, but her brothers often teased her.
Manchester's economy depended on cotton. The American Civil War caused a "cotton famine" in England, which ruined the cotton trade. In 1863, Eliza Hodgson had to sell their business. The family moved to an even smaller home, and Frances's schooling ended.
Frances's uncle, William Boond, asked the family to join him in Knoxville, Tennessee. He had a successful store there. Within a year, Eliza decided to move the family from Manchester. She sold their belongings and told Frances to burn her early writings. In 1865, the family moved to the United States and settled near Knoxville.
Moving to Tennessee
After the Civil War ended, Frances's uncle lost much of his business. He could not support the newly arrived family. They lived in a log cabin during their first winter in New Market. Later, they moved to a house in Knoxville that Frances called "Noah's Ark, Mt. Ararat."
The Burnett family lived across from them. Frances became friends with Swan Burnett. She introduced him to books by famous writers like Charles Dickens and Sir Walter Scott. Swan had a childhood injury that made him unable to play sports. Soon after they met, Swan left for college.
Frances started writing to earn money. Her first story was published in Godey's Lady's Book in 1868. Soon, she was regularly published in many magazines. She wanted to escape her family's poverty. She worked very hard, later saying she was "a pen driving machine." For five years, she wrote constantly, sometimes not worrying about the quality. After her first story was published, she spent the rest of her life as a working writer. By 1869, she had earned enough to move her family to a better home in Knoxville.
Her mother died in 1870. Within two years, two of her sisters and a brother got married. Frances and Swan remained friends, but neither was in a hurry to marry.
Marriage and Family Life
With the money from her writing, Frances visited England in 1872. Then she went to Paris. She had agreed to marry Swan and ordered a fancy wedding dress to be sent to Tennessee. She returned home and tried to delay the wedding until the dress arrived. But Swan insisted they marry soon. They were married in September 1873. She wrote to a friend about her disappointment with the dress: "Men are so shallow... he does not know the vital importance of the difference between white satin and tulle, and cream-colored brocade".
Her first child, Lionel, was born in September 1874. That year, she also started her first full novel, That Lass o' Lowrie's.
The couple wanted to leave Knoxville. Her writing income allowed them to travel to Paris. Swan continued his medical training there. The birth of their second son, Vivian, made them return to the United States. Frances had wanted a girl and had chosen the name Vivien. She changed the spelling for her new son. The family still relied on her writing income. To save money, she made clothes for her boys, often with many frills. Later, Burnett continued to make clothes, designing velvet suits with lace collars for her boys and frilly dresses for herself. She let her sons' hair grow long and curled it.
Life in Washington, D.C.
After two years in Paris, the family planned to move to Washington, D.C.. Swan wanted to start his medical practice there. But they were in debt. So, Frances had to live with Swan's parents in New Market while he got settled in D.C. In early 1877, she got a contract to publish That Lass o' Lowrie's. It was doing well as a series. At this point, she made her husband her business manager.
That Lass o' Lowrie's was published and received good reviews. The rights were sold for a British edition. Soon after, she joined her husband in D.C. She set up their home and made friends. She kept writing and became known as a rising young novelist. Despite raising a family and settling in a new city, Burnett started Haworth's, published in 1879. She also wrote a play version of That Lass o' Lowrie's.
In 1879, she visited Boston and met famous children's writers like Louisa May Alcott and Mary Mapes Dodge. After this, Burnett began writing children's stories. For the next five years, she published several short works in St. Nicholas. Burnett also continued to write adult novels. She wrote the play Esmerelda in 1881. It became the longest-running play on Broadway in the 19th century. However, she felt tired and sad from managing her home, caring for her children and husband, and keeping up with her writing schedule.
Within a few years, Burnett became well-known in Washington society. She hosted literary gatherings on Tuesday evenings. Politicians and local writers often attended. Swan's medical practice grew, but his income was less than hers. So, she felt she had to keep writing. She was often sick and disliked the heat of D.C., escaping whenever she could. In the early 1880s, she became interested in Christian Science and Spiritualism. These beliefs influenced her later life and writing. She was a loving mother and enjoyed her two sons very much. She paid close attention to their appearance, continuing to curl their long hair every day. This became the idea for Little Lord Fauntleroy.
In 1884, she started writing Little Lord Fauntleroy. It began as a series in St. Nicholas in 1885 and was published as a book in 1886. Little Lord Fauntleroy received good reviews and became a best-seller in the United States and England. It was translated into 12 languages and made Burnett a famous writer. The story is about a boy who wears fancy velvet suits and has long, curly hair. The main character, Cedric, was based on Burnett's younger son, Vivian. After Little Lord Fauntleroy was published, Burnett's fame as a children's book writer was set. She won a lawsuit in England in 1888 over the play rights to Little Lord Fauntleroy. This helped create a new rule in British copyright law in 1911. She also wrote The Real Little Lord Fauntleroy as a play, which was shown in London and on Broadway. The play earned her as much money as the book.
Returning to England
In 1887, Burnett traveled to England for Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. This was the first of her many yearly trips between the United States and England. With her sons, she visited places like Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in London. In her rented rooms, she continued her Tuesday evening gatherings. She met Stephen Townsend for the first time. Despite her busy schedule, she felt sick from the heat and crowds and spent a lot of time in bed.
With her sons, she moved to Florence for the winter. There, she wrote The Fortunes of Philippa Fairfax. That winter, Sara Crewe or What Happened at Miss Minchin's was published in the United States. She later turned Sara Crewe into a play and then rewrote the story as A Little Princess. In 1888, Burnett returned to Manchester. She rented a large home, decorated it, and then let her cousins run it as a boarding house. After that, she moved to London. She enjoyed the London social season and prepared her play Phyllis for production. She was disappointed by the bad reviews of the play. During this time, she started seeing more of Stephen Townsend.
In December 1890, Burnett's older son, Lionel, died from an illness in Paris. This deeply affected her life and writing. Before his death, she took him to Germany to visit spas, hoping for a cure. After he died, she wrote to a friend that her writing was not important compared to being a mother to two boys, one of whom had died. At this time, she turned away from her traditional faith and embraced Spiritualism and Christian Science.
She returned to London. She found comfort in charity work and started the Drury Lane Boys' Club in February 1892. She also wrote a play for Stephen Townsend, hoping to start his acting career. After two years away from her Washington, D.C. home, her husband, and her younger son, Burnett returned in March 1892. She continued her charity work and started writing again. In 1893, Burnett published her autobiography, The One I Knew Best of All, dedicated to her elder son. That same year, her books were shown at the Chicago World Fair.
Divorce and New Home
Burnett returned to London in 1894. There, she heard that her younger son, Vivian, was ill. She quickly went back to the United States. Vivian recovered but missed his first term at Harvard University. Burnett stayed with him until he was well, then returned to London. At this time, she started worrying about money. She was paying for Vivian's education, keeping a house in Washington D.C. (Swan had moved out), and keeping a home in London. As before, she turned to writing to earn money and began A Lady of Quality.
A Lady of Quality, published in 1896, was the first of several successful adult historical novels. Others followed, like In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim (1899) and The Making of a Marchioness (1901).
In 1898, after Vivian graduated from Harvard, she divorced Swan Burnett. The official reason was that he had left her. But actually, Burnett and Swan had planned their divorce years earlier. Swan moved into his own apartment so that after two years, she could say he had left her. The newspapers criticized her, calling her a "New Woman."
From the mid-1890s, she lived in England at Great Maytham Hall. It had a large garden where she loved to grow flowers. This was her home for the next ten years, though she still made yearly trips to the United States. Maytham Hall looked like an old manor house, which charmed Burnett. She enjoyed country life and socialized in the local villages. She filled the house with guests and had Stephen Townsend move in with her. In February 1900, she married Townsend.
Later Life and Final Years
The marriage happened in Genoa, Italy. The couple went to Pegli for their honeymoon, where it rained for two weeks. Burnett's biographer, Gretchen Gerzina, called the marriage "the biggest mistake of her life." The newspapers focused on the age difference—Townsend was ten years younger than her. She called him her secretary. Biographer Ann Thwaite believes he did not love her. Thwaite thinks Townsend needed her to help his acting career and support him financially. Within months, Burnett admitted in a letter to her sister that the marriage was in trouble. She described Townsend as almost crazy and very emotional.
Burnett could not bear to live with Townsend at Maytham. She rented a house in London for the winter of 1900–1901. There, she socialized with friends and wrote. She worked on two books at once: The Shuttle, a longer book, and The Making of a Marchioness, which she wrote quickly and received good reviews. In the spring of 1901, when she returned to the country, Townsend tried to replace her long-time publisher. In the autumn of 1902, after a summer of guests, she became very ill. She returned to America and went to a sanatorium in the winter of 1902. There, she told Townsend she would no longer live with him, and the marriage ended.
She returned to Maytham two years later in June 1904. Maytham Hall had several walled gardens. In the rose garden, she wrote several books. It was there she got the idea for The Secret Garden. In 1905, A Little Princess was published after she rewrote the play into a novel. Once again, Burnett turned to writing to earn more money. She lived a fancy lifestyle, spending money on expensive clothes. In 1905, it was reported that Burnett ate very little meat.
In 1907, she moved back to the United States permanently, having become a citizen in 1905. She built a home, finished in 1908, in Plandome Manor on Long Island, outside New York City. Her son Vivian worked in publishing. At his request, she agreed to be an editor for Children's Magazine. Over the next few years, she published several shorter works in Children's Magazine. In 1911, The Secret Garden was published. In her later years, she had a summer home on Long Island and a winter home in Bermuda. The Lost Prince was published in 1915. The Head of the House of Coombe and its sequel, Robin, were published in 1922.
Burnett lived for the last 17 years of her life in Plandome Manor. She died there on October 29, 1924, at age 74. She was buried in Roslyn Cemetery.
Famous Books by Frances Hodgson Burnett
Here are some of her well-known works:
- That Lass o' Lowrie's (1877)
- Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)
- The One I Knew the Best of All: A Memory of the Mind of a Child (1893)
- A Lady of Quality (1896)
- The Making of a Marchioness (1901)
- A Little Princess: Being the Whole Story of Sara Crewe Now Told for the First Time (1905)
- The Shuttle (1907)
- The Secret Garden (1911)
- The Lost Prince (1915)
- The Head of the House of Coombe (1922)
- Robin (1922) – sequel to The Head of the House of Coombe
Images for kids
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See also
In Spanish: Frances Hodgson Burnett para niños
